Defenseman Justin Braun is out with an upper body injury and will not play in Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks as the Sharks open a three-game homestand.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said Braun played with the injury during the team’s six-game road trip, and “just wasn’t in a good enough place when we got back here for him to play tonight. So day-to-day I would term him.”

Braun’s absence means the Sharks will switch up their bottom two defensive pairs. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who is normally paired with Braun, will skate with Brenden Dillon and Matt Tennyson will be with Mirco Mueller. The Sharks’ top pairing of Brent Burns and Paul Martin remains intact.

Braun had averaged 21 minutes and 29 seconds of ice time per game so far this season, a career high. He also had six assists in 21 games. Braun played 28:02 in Saturday’s Sharks win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, second most on the team that night next to Vlasic (28:55).

“Braunie’s been one of our unsung heroes here through the first quarter of the season,” DeBoer said. “He’s played some outstanding hockey, so we’re going to miss him, but it’s a great opportunity for Mueller and Tennyson and one of these guys to establish himself.”

Dillon has quietly had a solid start to the season as well, as he’s played in all 21 games and leads all Sharks defensemen with a plus-7 rating, which is third on the team behind Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. He scored his first goal of the season Sunday in Columbus, which was the game-winner in a come from behind 5-3 victory.

Dillon’s averaging 16:20 of ice time per game this season, but that number figures to go up with a rather inexperienced third pair.

Even though he will be playing on his off-side, Dillon said making the transition to playing with Vlasic should be smooth.

“If there’s one guy that’s the easiest to play with, I’d have to say Eddy,” Dillon said. “He’s a guy I watch in practice every day, and games every day. I try to learn from him and replicate him if I can. He’s a tremendous player, and we’re obviously happy to have him on our team.”

Braun’s absence will add to the challenge of taking on the Blackhawks for the Sharks. Chicago has the seventh ranked power play in the league at 21.1 percent and Patrick Kane, who is tied for the scoring lead in the NHL with 32 points and is on a 16-game point streak.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to reward Dillon for how well he’s played and for him to step up,” DeBoer said. “Everybody deals with it. One guys goes down, someone’s got to jump in.”